Creole seed cultivation: a proposal to conserve biodiversity for family farming in Confresa-MT settlement projects

Abstract

Many growers over the years end up adhering to the so-called “technological package” where
traditional cultivation practices along with the seeds that had previously been passed between generations
have been replaced by large amounts of chemical inputs. In this way, in 2015 the project
«Creole seed cultivation: a proposal for biodiversity conservation for family farming in Confresa-MT
settlement projects» was born. The first action was to identify producers who still own and cultivate
these seeds, which were identified and cataloged. Subsequently a property was chosen to receive
the Experimental Unit of production, to which 23 varieties of maize, beans, fava beans, peanuts,
croá, watermelon and pumpkin were implanted in the beginning. They are being exchanged and
multiplied among settlement farmers and neighboring towns. Although still in the beginning, it was
already possible to identify the community’s interest and adherence to the project.
Keywords: family farming; Agroecology; Seeds without poison.